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Sunday, 31 January 2016

Hi everyone! I don't have a finished project to show you today, but instead I have some thoughts, lots of questions, and not very many answers.

Is a day in bed watching rubbish on Netflix and continuously refreshing social media wasted? Is it ignorant? If I was bed bound would I be yelling at past me going, 'Get up! Just do something!' I think that I would.
Is it a bit much to restrict hours spent in bed and to enforce hours sewing instead? Or is that not how creativity works? Is creativity something that can't be forced?
Is reading more or less of a waste of time than Netflix? Is it more valuable because it's on a page instead of a screen? Maybe so, because it requires imagination.
But without that downtime, that doing nothing time, would I be an exhausted wreck of a person? Maybe. So how much is too little and how much is too much? Does it depend on the individual? Maybe.
But when I'm old and grey, I would like to look back at the past and say, 'Well done Lauren, you did something.'

Sunday, 24 January 2016

Hello all! Today I have some really fun pjs to share with you. Marilla posted about this dinosaur fabric a while back and I couldn't resist. I'm not really one to go for novelty prints, but for pajamas I think dinosaurs are perfectly acceptable.

For the top I traced an existing thermal top and then added cuffs and a band for the hem. I think I could have been a bit more precise because the sleeves ended up having little pleats at the top because they were too big. The long sleeves are perfect for keeping me warm at home, but living in an 8 floor building at uni they are too warm. I'm not sure whether I'll cut them down, but it's a possibility.

I used the True Bias Hudson pant pattern for the bottoms. This pattern was such a good investment. I think this is my 5th pair so they didn't take very long to put together at all.

They have had so much wear already and are so comfy that I never want to take them off. Ugh, why isn't fabric self cleaning already! I accidentally walked into a party wearing them on Friday night and now I have two orders for dino t-shirts, which is great!

Thanks for reading and to Ed for taking photos! It was such a funny set up. He was holding my lamp shade down with a hanger to get the light on me, standing on a stool and taking pictures with his other hand.

Saturday, 16 January 2016

Hello all! This viscose floral reminded me of 40s tea dresses and this is my modern interpretation of that. I decided that it was high time that I made the By Hand London Anna dress in its original design. I've paired the bodice with half circle skirts twice before and this time I wanted to try it with it's original less-full gored skirt.

Construction went pretty smoothly, although the hips needed taking in a bit. All the seams were overlocked, the neckline and armholes were finished with self-fabric bias binding with a slip-stitch. I'm still a bit slow, but practice makes perfect! I used a matching red invisible zip for the centre back. I've found that the trick is to sew each side twice to get as close as possible to the zipper teeth.

It's the first fabric that I've come across that I could describe as spongy, although a good iron squashes it down. As a viscose it does crease fairly easily, but it feels nice against the skin and drapes beautifully. The seams were quite tricky to match up with such a shifty fabric, so I settled for a 0.3mm margin of error.

I decided on a 3 inch hem so it would hang nicely, and I think it's the perfect length for me. Long enough to feel elegant, and short enough to feel modern. I was worried that the silhouette wouldn't suit, but I love it. This is just such an elegant dress!

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About Me

Hi, I’m Lauren. I’m 20 and live in London. I love to sew, and I started this blog in order to document my projects and hopefully the progress I make with my sewing abilities. I'm currently doing a degree in costume production!
Thanks for visiting!